Benjamin's Story

Living with a classic case of Dawn Phenomenon

Before switching to the Cellnovo Diabetes Management System, Benjamin, 19, had to set his alarm to administer an injection for the middle of the night.

Benjamin lived with a classic case of Dawn Phenomenon, an early-morning increase in blood glucose levels, which would begin at around 3 am and last until noon.

To offset the increase in blood glucose, which would leave him feeling ill and lethargic each morning, he began a new routine: With his diabetes kit on his bedside table and a nightly alarm set to go off in the middle of the night, Benjamin would rouse from sleep to administer a dose of insulin.

But it wasn’t a reliable way to regulate his BG levels. There were nights when he would give himself too much insulin or would forget to set the alarm and miss an injection entirely. Getting within target range became elusive and frustrating, he said.

It was a routine he also had to adopt during his gap year living in Northern California last year — and one he hoped to avoid as he went into his first year at university.

Choosing the Cellnovo Diabetes Managment System

After being presented with a range of new pump options last year, Benjamin said he decided to go with the Cellnovo Diabetes Management System. His doctor described it as the most technologically advanced on the market, he said.

The tubeless pump is controlled via a sleek, touchscreen handset that passes easily as a smartphone.

In addition to an integrated blood glucose meter, the handset doubles as a digital food journal — so he no longer has the obligation of keeping a log book for his meals.

The pump itself is tubeless, small, and waterproof. It can be disconnected and reconnected at any time, whenever and wherever necessary.

Meal times and meal styles are no longer as regimented

After building his personal food library and corresponding carbohydrate values, Benjamin selects the foods he’s about to eat with a simple tap on his handset — two slices of bread, ham and cheese, for instance — and the Bolus Calculator will do the maths. Validating the suggested dose of insulin allows the pump to begin administering the dosage.

“The Cellnovo System has transformed my meal times,” Benjamin said from his home just outside Plymouth.

No longer does he have to eat a full meal before heading out for his habitual morning run, which can sit heavy in the stomach.

Meal times and meal styles are no longer as regimented as they were before, he added. If he doesn’t want to eat a full meal, but prefers grazing on snacks as he studies for a geography exam, for instance, he can request a temporary basal rate and calibrate the pump to deliver 150 percent of his normal insulin dosage over the next three hours.

Data is sent wirelessly in real time to a secure server, allowing him the option of sharing his clinical data with his family members and care team, which can be accessed remotely from any device that is connected to the Internet.

A patch pump that tracks physicial activity

The discrete patch pump, which is removable and waterproof, is also equipped with a built-in activity tracker, allowing users to view the data over time and help deduce trends like how their physical activity might impact their blood glucose levels.

For Benjamin, the activity tracker is particularly useful given that he’s a regular runner and grew up playing tennis and hockey.

“I’m definitely more confident doing more intense exercises than I was before,” he added.

Since making the switch from injections to an untethered pump, Benjamin says he’s no longer had any episodes of the Dawn Phenomenon. "I'm grateful for that," he said.

Confidence in the Cellnovo Customer Service Team

Likewise, he said he was particularly impressed with the customer service at Cellnovo.

“A couple of times I’ve had to email or call with questions and the customer service team respond quickly and take the time to listen to my feedback. I feel confident knowing that they’re just a phone call or email away.”